Say Something
by Apples69
Summary: Riley Darko is a working baker who is hoping to go back to university at the start of the next year but when she gets fired from her job at a small bakery, Honey hires her on the spot to be his own personal baker to bake all the cakes he desires. In the meantime, she feels she is becoming too close to Mori.
1. Bakery

Riley, an overworked student, walked into the bakery she worked at with her dog Ghost and put on her flour splattered apron. She had recently finished her first year of school and was hoping to raise enough money to bluff her way into her second year which was six months from then. Morning light hadn't even shown itself by the time the dark haired baker started her first batch of baked goods. Ghost sat by the cash register on his pillow and went back to sleep as he waited for his master. It seemed she went through the same routine every day: wake up at 5 a.m., work in the bakery from 6 a.m. until 3 p.m., clean up the shop, go home to feed Ghost, sleep for about an hour, get ready, go waitress at the restaurant she also worked at from 6 p.m. until 11 p.m. then, lastly, go home and sleep.

This morning in particular she felt extremely exhausted as she pulled out her last batch of bread before flipping the open/closed sign and unlocking the doors. As was the norm for the baker, people streamed in and out, fawned over the white husky that sat by the register, bought this or that, then left without even blinking in acknowledgement at her. By the end of the day, with everything cleaned and time to spare, Riley wiped her hands on her apron and pulled out one of her undecorated chocolate cakes. "Such potential..." she muttered to herself, "like a canvas, waiting to be painted."

Almost as if she were worried someone heard her, she quickly looked around the room before looking back at the cake, "Jesus Riley... you know you're spending too much time alone when you start talking to cakes..." Ghost, responding to his master's voice, walked over to her and pressed his nose against her knee. Before stroking his large white head, Riley took off her apron and walked away from the bake area, "Spending time with you doesn't count. You don't really talk back."

The dog went back to his pillow and sighed almost as if in exasperation as the baker washed up before starting to decorate the cake. Soon, she lost track of time and was humming peacefully to herself as she put layers upon layers of icing on top of each other. As she was adding coke balls on top of the icing puffs along the rim of the cake, the ring of the bell at the front door snapped Riley out of her trance.

Two people came in, one short and blonde riding on the other man's very tall shoulders. Surprised, Riley looked at the clock and saw that it was past closing. "Oh no..." she muttered to herself before standing up to greet the two customers, "Sorry but we're technically closed. I must've forgot to lock up..." When the two stood in front of her, she felt suddenly intimidated by the tall man since she barely stood above 5'3 and he looked taller than 6'0.

Before she could say much more, the blonde hopped off his black haired friend's shoulders and gawked at the nearly finished cake, "Did you make that?" He asked in an excited tone.

Ghost stood up from his spot and investigated the two, sniffing them as his master nodded, "Yeah I did. It's not done yet though."

"Can I," he started, "can I have a piece?"

His cute voice and excited face caused Riley to giggle, "I can't give you a piece of this today. It's for tomorrow but," she walked away and pulled out a tray of cupcakes, "you can have one of these."

The small blonde's eyes seemed to glint as he stared at the rows of multicoloured pastries. At one point, he turned to his tall friend and asked, "Don't you want one Takashi?" When he only shook his head in response, the small boy continued looking at the array of sweets. He eventually chose a vanilla cupcake with pink cream cheese icing and little edible pink and white flowers.

The taller man, Takashi, laid some yen on the counter and walked out with the blonde leading the way as he devoured the small delicacy. Though she wasn't expecting it, the two came back the next day and the day after that. By the end of the week, the duo soon turned into a group of seven, each one wanting some sort of sweet besides Takashi and the man with glasses.

One day though, instead of just leaving, the blonde, who Riley found out was named Mitsukuni or also known as Honey, turned to her after he finished three pieces of cake and smiled, "Rye-chan that was really yummy! I wish I could have your cake every day! Isn't that right, Usa-chan?" Honey asked his small stuffed bunny.

Before she could respond, her boss walked in for the first time in months and looked about the store. His eyes rested on the white husky and he immediately turned to Riley, "How many times have I told you that you _can't_ bring that dog here?" He screamed in fury, "You're lucky the food inspectors didn't come and do a surprise inspection! Riley... how do you expect to work in a bakery and bring that dog here?"

Momentarily too stunned to say anything, Riley managed to spit out, "But... but the bakery is called "The White Dog Bakery". I just thought that-"

"Riley." The infuriated manager interrupted her, "No more. I'm done. _You're_ done. You're fired."

Silence filled the room as the seven customers looked on in anticipation to see what would happen and the baker stood wide eyed and panicked, "But—but sir... I-I can't _not _have this job. I mean, I can't afford to not have this job. I need the money so I can go back to school at the start of next year but I can't do that without-"

The manager simply raised his hand and shook his head to quiet the ex-employee's words, "I'm sorry but I gave you enough warnings. You're an exceptional baker, Ms. Darko but I've already given you enough chances. Now, your last paycheque will be sent in the mail. Good luck in your endeavours Riley." And with that, he went to the back of the bakery.

Like a shadow, the silence hung over the group as Riley tried to comprehend what had just happened to her. She knew that, without this job, she'd have to find another which would pay as much as the bakery did however, that seemed unlikely. Out of habit, she licked her lips before turning back to Honey, "Sorry sweetie but... I think that'll be the last cake of mine you'll be eating in a while."

The seven looked about each other, each whispering something to the person beside them. Finally, as Riley was about to head out the door, Honey hopped in front of her with Usa-chan in hand and said happily, "That's okay Rye-chan! I'll hire you!"


	2. First Week

_"How did I end up here..." _Riley found herself wondering as she pulled out yet another cake from the oven. "How many cakes could someone so small eat? Like fo' reals." She said to Ghost, who was lying by the counter. It had only been four days since she decided to work for the Haninozuka's, namely Honey, as a personal baker and she had baked more cakes in those four days than she had the whole four months she worked at the bakery. At first, she tried to make each one special and decorate them in creative ways though, as Honey ate more cakes than she could bake, she just slapped on some icing and served it out.

To add onto all the cakes Honey ate by himself, she also found herself making some for the hosts and their clients while she waited for her day to be over. Finally, with four cakes surrounding her, she had the time to sit down and brush a strand of her black hair that came loose from her high ponytail behind her ear. "Man... how can everyone eat so much sweet food? It's exhausting."

Ghost walked over to his master and laid his head in her lap, his tail swishing ever so slightly as he looked up at her. As Riley was scratching behind her dog's ear, Honey came skipping into the room with Mori following behind him. "Are those all the cakes left?"

Riley found it rather cute that Mori and Honey were always together and that Mori seemed to take care of Honey as he would a younger brother. "Yeah, that's all of them sweets. Wanna take them home?"

From his reaction, people would have thought that he was offered his dreams on a silver platter instead of just being offered four, poorly decorated cakes. "Oh yes yes _yes_!" His eyes seemed to widen as he looked at the icing covered pastries and seemed almost mesmerized by them.

"Alright then," she continued before starting to turn her back, "I'll get you some boxes to put them in." In the few minutes it took her to find the boxes, Honey managed to eat two of the cakes before she got back. "Jeez Mori," she jokingly scolded, "why'd you let Honey eat all the cakes before I got back? So irresponsible..." When he only stared at her, she smiled at him, "No? Nothing? Don't worry, someday you'll say something to me."

Almost as if he were mocking her, he simply went, "Hm."

It took her a moment to register what he did before she started laughing, "So much sass, Takashi. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were starting to warm up to me. And it's only been four days too. Just wait 'til it's been four weeks... or even four _months_. You'd probably love me by then." She then laughed a bit more before helping Honey put her now two leftover cakes into the small boxes.

As the two were packing up, Honey looked almost sad as he said, "Now I only have two for dessert..." Riley saw him slowly look up at her and smile sweetly, "Maybe if you came over we could bake some more. Just for dessert."

She found herself raising her eyebrow ever so slightly as she asked, "We?"

He nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah! We could bake and you could meet Chika-chan and you could stay for dinner and then we could-"

"Honey, sweetie," she interrupted him, "don't worry, I'll go with you so then I can bake for you but then I have to go home. You have me baking all day and after I just wanna go home and sleep."

The small blonde got so happy that he jumped up and hugged the baker tightly while he giggled, "Yay we're gonna have more cake!"

Mori carried the two boxes as the trio made their way out of the small second kitchen in Ouran Academy and out into the hallway, where they were intercepted by the rest of the host club. Tamaki slid his way over to Riley and lifted her chin with his index finger so their noses were almost touching, "Hello my princess," he purred, "where are you and our two favourite hosts heading off to?"

Because of Tamaki's closeness, the poor baker lightly pushed him away and took a step back and said, "Tamaki? Boundaries. Remember, we talked about that? I have my bubble and I don't like people poppin' it."

Tamaki looked hurt as he started to say, "But my princess-"

To cut him off, she held up her finger and said, "No no no no no bubble popping. Okay?" Eventually, the defeated Tamaki nodded his head while the twins giggled quietly. "Alright," Riley said, "now Honey, Mori and I are going to go bake some more I guess."

"Bake more?" Haruhi asked in disbelief, "Honey-senpai already makes you bake all day and now he has you working _after_ school? That hardly seems fair..." When Riley met Haruhi, it didn't take her long to realize that she was a she and was working at the host club as a male. _"Or maybe she just doesn't specify..." _Riley had thought after she saw the truth.

All in all though, the two seemed to get along fine. Riley shrugged her shoulders, "It's fine... I mean, the Haninozuka's are paying my way back into university for this so I may as well show my gratitude in the only way I can. Bake more cakes."

Because of the Haninozuka's, again mainly Honey's, need for the baker, they paid her way back into her second year of university and they would also pay for however many years of schooling she needed. As long as she worked for the small boy in her spare time. At first, Riley thought that it was hands down the best job offer she'd ever received and that it'd be a cake walk but, to her dismay, it seemed to be more work than she realized.

"So to get this straight," Kaoru started.

Of course, Hikaru continued with, "You've baked all day for Honey-senpai and now, after hours, you're going to bake even more?"

"How can you keep up?" The twins asked in unison.

Kyouya adjusted his glasses with his index finger and said, "Well, thinking back to how much you had to bake back when you worked at the bakery-"

As Kyouya continued to babble on as the host club listened on intently, Riley grabbed both Mori and Honey's arms and started to back away from the group. Haruhi was the only one out of the remaining five hosts to notice and waved as the trio made their escape.

Once outside, Riley twirled her key ring around her finger and looked at the two cousins, "Hey I have my car here and you guys probably wanna go in your stretch limo or whatever it is you travel in so I'll meet you guys at Honey's 'kay?"

Mori looked down at Honey who answered enthusiastically, "Why don't we go with you Rye-chan? I'd love to see your car!"

She hesitated slightly before shrugging her shoulders, "Okie then... I don't know how well you'd fit Mori I mean... I have a tiny car and you're... you have long legs."

It didn't take long for the three to make it to a tiny red 1995 Toyota Tercel that had a small Hello Kitty sticker in the back window. Honey hopped about, "Ooh is this your car? It's so tiny!"

Just as Riley predicted, Mori seemed a bit uncomfortable in the front seat of the car and pushed the seat back as far as he could. Honey sat in the back with Ghost and looked excited as the car had trouble starting. Feeling embarrassed, the baker looked down as the engine sputtered by refused to start. "Not again... it'll start, don't you guys worry. It always starts eventually."

Again, just as she predicted, the car finally came to life and pulled them out of the parking lot. As they were driving, Honey was talking on and on about how much fun the car ride was, Mori remained silently looking out the window, Ghost had his head stuck out the window and Riley was thinking about everything she needed. "Hey sweetie?" She said to Honey, "Do you mind if we stop by my place so I can drop Ghost off and feed him?"

As excited as could be, Honey hopped up from his seat and exclaimed, "Yeah I would love to see where you live!"

"Mitsukuni Haninozuka!" Riley yelled as Mori panickedly tried to turn in his seat, "Put your seat belt on!"


	3. Boredom

"No really Dakota." Riley said into her phone as she changed into a pair of pyjamas, "I have never baked so much in my life."

_"And to think you used to say you couldn't get enough of baking." _Riley's old friend, Dakota, said with a laugh. Dakota and Riley both came from the same town and, when they graduated high school, Dakota moved to England to persue her dreams while Riley stayed behind to take care of her mother. _"But dude," _Dakota continued, _"this 'Takashi' guy sounds hot. You should climb that."_

"Yo." Riley laughed, "It's not like that. I mean sure he's... tall and when he's with Honey he just looks so cute _but,_ he's related to my employers. It just can't work like that."

_"Ooh sounds like you got a little crush on this guy."_

"Oh please," the baker said as she climbed into bed, "looky here. I ain't got eyes fo' no one. 'Kay?"

_"C'mon, you have got the super hots for him!"_

"Okay, good night Dakota."

_"Hey now-"_

Before Dakota could finish, Riley ended the call and threw her cell phone on the pillow beside her. Though she tried not to, the baker couldn't help but think about Mori. The more she thought about him, the most she became convinced that she had no romantic feelings for him. "He's too serious," she said to Ghost who was lying in his bed across the room. "And he never says anything. Too mellow for me."

Ghost's ears twiched slightly but that's the only response he gave before yawning loudly. Feeling a sudden pang of a recently reaccuring loneliness, Riley punched her pillow before lying down and pulling her blankets up to her chin, "Useless... you're useless Ghost."

The next day when Riley walked into the Host Club, she was swarmed with an array of rose pedals and the soothing melody of classical music. She attempted to knock away the pedals but failed and only managed to flail her arms in front of her. "Welcome, my princess." Tamaki purred and slid towards her. Now used to this treatment, Riley easily managed to dodge the "King's" outstretched arms and made her way over to Honey.

"For you, my sweet." She said as she held out a box with small cheesecake bites inside.

Honey, happy as could be, poured multiple bites onto his small saucer and giggled, "They're so tiny and cute! Thank you Rye-chan!"

It seemed as though every time Honey flashed his adorable smile, Riley could do nothing more but smile in response. "No worries. Just don't eat them too fast. The _actual_ cakes won't be done for at least another forty five minutes." Noticing Mori out of the corner of her eye, she said in a happy tone, "Heya Mori. How's it goin'? Wanna cheesecake bite?" When only silence answered her, she smiled broadly, "Okay, now you just playin'. Are you still not talking to me just because I'm making such a big deal about it all the time?" Mori raised an eyebrow but still didn't say a word. "You _are_, aren't you?"

She walked over to the tall host who was sitting in his chair across from Honey and put her arm over his shoulders, "If you're just playin', that makes us kinda sorta friends, right? 'Cause only friends joke around... I can see it now... Riley and Mori... friends of the ages." Unable to stop herself from giggling, she looked to Mori and saw a ghost of a smile cross his lips. She smiled and pointed at him, "Ah! Almost a smile from the 'strong, silent' host! I'm gettin' there. Soon Takashi, soon." Before she left his side, she forced open one of his hands and placed a single cheesecake bite into his outstretched palm. "They're good," Riley said before walking away from him, "I swear."

For the rest of the day, the host club continued their work while Riley wheeled cakes in on a trolley. "I'm getting the hang of this," she said at the end of the day as she was lounging on a sofa in the music room. With the Haninozuka's paying for anything she ever needed, Riley's once long days of baking then waitressing turned into baking and waiting for the end of the day. As of late, she found herself spending more and more time with the hosts and found herself strangely bored.

"Hey Kyouya?" She asked, "Doesn't the Host Club go out and about and actually do things _not_ at school?"

Kyouya didn't look up from his notebook as he answered, "Whatever gave you that impression?"

Wanting to get rid of the bored feeling in the pit of her stomach, she got up from the sofa and walked over to the "Shadow King", "I know people. They said that the Host Club is quite known for bringing certain clients on... let's call them short vacations."

That little remark made him look up from his notebook and actually look at her, "Who are these people? They wouldn't happen to be Haruhi, would they?"

Momentarily surprised at how quickly Kyouya figured out her informant, Riley managed to keep her poker face on and say, "Who my people are doesn't matter. What matters is if their information is good or not. So, answer the question Mister Otori."

Suddenly uninterested, he started scribbling in his notebook once again, "Why are you so curious? You're not getting bored with your job already, are you?"

_"Ooh," _Riley thought to herself, _"shots fired."_ Unable to deny the occusation, she muttered, "Psh... don't be ridiculous. It's only been like... two weeks I'm not that... you know what? I don't care I was just... curious."

As she was walking away, Kyouya said, "Don't worry Riley. The Host Club is about to leave for one of your so called 'short vacations' and, if you're Honey-sempai's baker, then I suppose you'll be coming with us."

In that instant her poker face broke and a smile flashed across her features, "Yeah? Where to?"

"There's a beach that-"

"Beach?" She interrupted him, "Haru—I meant my _informants_, also mentioned that you guys just went to some beach in some place somewhere. Why go to another beach again?"

"Beaches please our clients the most, making our sales go up by anywhere up to 20%."

After pondering those statitistics for a moment, Riley found herself asking, "It's because of the swimming trunks isn't it? I bet that's what it is."

"I'm sure I don't know. Now, is that everything, Ms Darko?"

Feeling as bored with him as he felt with her, she nodded, "Yeah... thanks Kyouya." And with that, she sauntered off. As she sauntered, she came across Honey sleeping beside a mountain of cakes with Usa-chan tucked neatly under his arm. Mori, of course, was sitting at a table nearby reading a book. With a smirk, she sat in a chair beside him and looked at him with her elbow resting on the table and her cheek resting against her fist.

When he didn't look away from his book, she nudged his knee with her foot, "Hey Mor-i." He glanced at her over the top of his book before looking back down at the pages. "Oh c'mon," she pleaded, "it's bad enough that you don't talk to me. Least you could do is look at me." At those words, he put down his book and stared at her. For a moment, the two just stared at each other before Riley let out a sigh, "Never mind. You could go back to reading if you want..."

Her eyes wandered down to the table in boredom and she became suddenly fascinated with the brown swirl of color coating the surface. As she stared, Mori put his finger under her chin and made her look up at him. When he realized what he did, he seemed to look confused and sat back in his chair while taking his hand back. Not noticing anything, Riley muttered, "Nah I'm fine. Really. Just a little... just noticing things I never noticed before. But did you hear?" She asked in an excited tone. "We're going to an oh-so-exciting beach! Kyouya never told me where that beach is _but_, we're going! That'll be great. Now I just gotta decide what to wear..."

Just as she stood up and was about to walk away, she turned back and looked at Mori, "Hey Mori?" He looked up at her and she said, "If I... if I ever needed to... I dunno, _talk_ to someone would you... would you maybe listen?"

Her face turned red as she asked. It was enough to make him nod and she smiled, "Th-thanks Mori."


	4. Beach

Waves lapped softly against the sand with the bright sun shining down on the hosts. The scenery was so beautiful, Riley found herself mesmorized as she sat in the shade of her beach umbrella with Ghost sleeping by her side. Honey and Mori were nearby, both working with clients of the host club, as they were doing a kind of exercise regiment along the shore that the baker didn't recognize.

When Tamaki realized how alone Riley was, he casually made his way over to her and covered her eyes from behind, "Hello my darling. What are you doing over here all by yourself? Wouldn't you like some company?"

Feeling slightly annoyed, she pushed his hands away from her eyes and shook her head, "Nah, it's okay Tamaki. I'm not paying you or anything so you can go and deal with _real_ customers."

Not giving up, he sat by her side and said flirtatiously, "No other flower here is as beautiful as you, my lady."

Unsure how to escape the flirtatious blonde, Riley stood up and wiped the sand off her legs, "Thanks Tamaki but... I gotta go bake right now so I'll see ya later."

If she were being honest, Tamaki would've known that she didn't actually have to bake since Honey did not want any cake until after he was done playing on the beach. Before, when Honey was keen on Riley bringing him cake while he was working with clients on the beach, Mori made the point that sand was more likely to get stuck in the icing so, for the cake's sake, Riley wasn't to bake until dinner time.

As she turned to walk away, she bumped into Mori, who was wet from swimming in the warm water. "Oh sorry Mori. Want a water?" She asked before reaching into a cooler nearby and pulling out a bottle. Mori silently accepted the cool beverage and sat down on the beach towel that Riley was previously sitting on.

Tamaki gave a sweeping bow and said, "Well then my princess, I shall leave you to your baking." And with that, he departed.

Once he was out of sight, the baker sat back down on the towel in the shade and sighed, "Tamaki is... he's quite eccentric, isn't he?"

Mori nodded slightly and went, "Hm."

Now used to this treatment from the tallest host, Riley nodded, "He has just a _little_ bit too much energy for me. And he likes... physical contact. It'd be fine as long as he just kept... a good minimum of ten inches in between us. Then I'd be cool with it but he's always... _there_." And as she continued complaining about how much she disliked Tamaki always in her personal space, Mori noticed a piece of dried seaweed tangled in her long, dark wavy hair. For a moment, he had an internal struggle with himself about whether he should simply pluck the seaweed from her hair or to just leave it. Before he could decide, the baker ran her fingers over her scalp and noticed the plant stuck in her hair. She made a face and began to untangle it while still talking.

"... I mean," she continued, "it's not that I don't like Tamaki. He seems absolutely wonderful it's just-"

"He's always in your space?" Mori cut her off.

Hearing his voice for the first time surprised Riley so much, she could only stare and smile for a few seconds. When she stayed silent a little too long, the tall host looked over at her and gave her a small smile. All she could do was giggle and lightly push his shoulder, "For God's sake Mori... are you trying to give me a heart attack? For _weeks_ you didn't say a word to me and now, words _and_ a smile in one go? Jeez..." she laughed again, "glad to know I now have the 'Mori Stamp of Approval'."

Once she was done laughing, both baker and host looked over at Honey, who was building a sand castle with Hikaru and Kaoru. "Well," Riley said as she stood up, "I'd say it's almost time to go back inside for dinner, wouldn't you?" When he nodded, she began backing up with Ghost, "Okie dokie. Then, gimme like... fifteen minutes. I have a cold, nice dessert idea for you guys. Promise me you'll wait fifteen minutes." He nodded silently, causing Riley to smile and say, "C'mon now. Y'gotta _say_ 'I promise'," she said in the deepest voice she could form at the last bit. One of his eyebrows raised but that was the only response she got out of him. She rolled her eyes and said with a laugh, "Aight fine. One day, we might have an _actual_ conversation. Just you wait. I got you to smile _and_ say something in one day. I know shit now." And with that, she went back to the mansion like beach house the host club had rented.

Just as he promised, Mori went back to the beach house with the rest of the club in tow fifteen minutes after Riley had left. They all sat down at the dining room table and began eating the meal that was being served out to them. A collection of sea creatures, most floating in some sort of butter based sauce, were placed along the dining room table and made the whole house smell fishy. Haruhi immediately started devouring the food without thought of anyone else. Thankfully there was so much food that, even though she tried, Haruhi just couldn't eat it all herself.

Each of the hosts had begun eating their respectable meals besides Honey, who sat with Usa-chan in his lap. Tamaki noticed and looked up from his plate to the smaller blonde, "Honey-sempai? Why aren't you eating?"

"I'm waiting for Rye-chan." Honey said as he played with Usa-chan's ears before looking up at his older cousin, "Didn't she come back before us?"

Little did the hosts realize, Riley was in the back of the kitchen with Ghost, popping sweet green grapes into her mouth and throwing the occasional kibble on the floor for her dog. In the past, she had never eaten with the hosts, she only wheeled in the cakes and sometimes ate a slice with Honey if she had the time so she thought that sitting away from them would be expected of her. Not that she minded, she prefered to sit away from them. At least, that night in particular she didn't mind; she disliked seafood.

So in the back she sat with Ghost, both of them snatching food from here or there within the kitchen. It wasn't until a maid walked up to her and bowed her head slightly before saying, "Ms Darko? Mr Haninozuka is waiting for you," that the baker stood from her spot and went into the dining room. When she poked her head through the door, Honey waved happily and waited for her to sit before starting to eat the food in front of him.

The same maid that summoned her returned with a plate of some sort of dead fish soaked in a garlic sauce. The smell reached Riley's nose and she politely declined, "No thank you... could you bring me some grapes though?" The maid bowed her head and departed the room.

"Don't you like seafood?" Haruhi asked through a mouthful of garlic and pepper roasted shrimp.

Riley shook her head as a bowl of grapes were placed in front of her, "Not in particular. It's just all so... fishy, you know? Not really my cup of tea."

Honey finished his small amount of food quickly and turned to Riley, "Can we have cake now? I've waited _all_ day."

The baker looked slightly ashamed as she said, "Well... there wasn't enough flour to bake any cakes because the cooks used it all to make the batter for all the fish _but_," she motioned at a maid with a flick of her hand, "I _did_ make these."

It took a second but four maids came back, each carrying trays of cookies. "See, they're _kinda_ like cakes. I just kinda scooped out the icing from Oreo cookies and then refilled them with everyone's favourite type of ice cream... I'm sorry Honey. I didn't expect there to be no flour."

Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other for a moment before starting to panic. They both leaned close to Tamaki and Hikaru began to whisper, "Boss, Honey-sempai's gonna flip!"

Kaoru nodded, "Yeah! You can't substitute cakes with cookies! It's not in Honey-sempai's nature! He _needs_ cake!"

Tamaki also began to panic, "Oh no... my poor princess... _we must protect-_"

"Wow Rye-chan these are delicious!" Honey exclaimed as he ate his first cookie. "But isn't there a store in town? Why don't you go there and get more flour so then we can all have some cake?"

Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru had quieted down by this point and were watching on in anticipation. Riley raised an eyebrow, "Is it still open? I mean... it's pretty late."

Honey shrugged, "I'm not sure but... I _really_ want some cake..." He looked up at her with tear filled eyes and the baker's reluctance immediately disappated.

She let out a little sigh, "Alright then... I'll go and check. Don't wait up."

The small blonde jumped from his seat, "Wait! Bring Takashi with you! He'll keep you safe!"

Riley and Mori made eye contact for a second before she shook her head, "No, it's okay. You could stay if you want, Mori." First, the tall host looked at Honey, then at Riley, before standing up from his seat. Unable to stop herself from smiling, the baker said, "Alright then. Thanks Mori. Hey sweetie?" She said to Honey, "Could you look after Ghost while I'm gone then? He shouldn't be any trouble."

Ghost walked over to Honey and placed his head in his lap, his tail swishing ever so lightly. "Yeah, of course Rye-chan!"

With that, Riley and Mori were about to depart from the room before Kyouya said, "Hurry back you two. There have been some weather warnings. It would be unfortunate if you two were to get lost in a storm."

Almost out of habit, baker and host looked over to Honey, who didn't hear Kyouya and was playing with Ghost. "We'll make it back," she said, whether to the hosts or to herself, she couldn't tell.

It was a mostly silent walk into town since Mori went back into his silent state and Riley had run out of things to say. When they reached the store, it was closed due to the storm warnings. "They must've been some hard core warnings... hey Mori?" She asked, "D'you think we should call a taxi to take us back to-" She was cut off by the loud rumble of thunder which came from nowhere. For a moment, she stood stiffly before her muscles unclenched and she smiled, "Cool."

Mori, suddenly panicked, grabbed her hand in his and started running back towards the beach house. By that time, the wind had already picked up and blew viciously against anything standing in its path. Barely halfway back to the beach, Riley let go of Mori's hand and put her hands on her knees as she doubled over and was breathing heavily. "We have to hurry." Mori said, trying to coax her back to running.

In between gasps for air, she managed to yell over the wind and the beginning rain drops, "Mori I make cakes for a living! So I let myself go okay?"

He looked around and ran away from her. She shook her fist after his shrinking figure, "You... are terrible!"

Once she managed to catch her breath, the rain had started pouring down from the clouds and the wind was blowing so hard they pelted Riley's face like tiny rocks. Before long, she noticed a figure running towards her. At first, she felt panicked though it subsided when she saw Mori's familiar features. She glared at him when he was standing in front of her again, "You jerk I thought you-"

Before she could continue to yell at him, he grabbed her hand in his again before running back where he came. Then again, just as last time, Riley began to fall behind. "I am so sorry-" she began but was again interrupted when he picked her up in his arms and continued running.

Quickly, thanks to Mori, the two made it into an underground cellar connected to an abandoned house. Once Mori put Riley down, he closed the doors to the cellar and the sound of the rain and wind was muffled. Both of them were soaked from head to toe and the baker wrung water from her hair, "Well... that was exciting."

She looked up and noticed that her fellow adventurer was pacing anxiously, all while staring at the doors leading back outside. Immediately knowing what was bothering him, she stood up and grabbed him by the arms, making him stop pacing. "Mori? Honey's okay. Don't worry."

He still had a faintly distant look as his eyes refused to focus on her. She grabbed his chin with her fingers and made him look at her, "Takashi? Sweetie listen to me." Finally, his eyes seemed to register her and she continued, "Honey, is fine. You saw that big ass mansion. Honey will be okay." In an attempt to soothe him, she brushed his wet hair that became plastered to his forehead back, "Really, sweetie. It's just a little wind and a little bit of rain. He'll be fine."

As the seconds ticked by, Mori's whole demeanor suddenly began relaxing as she stared into his grey eyes and he stared into her blue ones. Riley knew he was okay when he picked a twig out of her hair and flicked it away. She smiled up at him, "Thank goodness. I dunno what would've happened if you went crazy or something. Now, let's get some light in here." The cellar the two found themselves in had no light and was almost pitch black except for near the entrance. So, to light up the black, the baker took out her phone and turned on its flashlight. She also attempted to reach one of the other hosts to let them know that they were okay but all she got was static. "Must be this cellar..."

Feeling suddenly exhausted, she sat down with her back against one of the walls closest to the entrance after she took off her wet jacket, shoes and socks. "Too much excitement for me for one day."

Following her lead, Mori sat beside her. After a few moments of silence, he muttered, "Thanks."

His sudden gratitude made her smile broadly and say, "No, thank _you_. You could've totally just left me out there because I'm so... let's just call it inactive but you came back for me. _And_ you carried me. That's pretty heroic, if I do say so myself."

As more time ticked on, Riley found herself laying her head against Mori's shoulder, "Sorry Mori but... I feel _very_ tired." Soon, a quiet snore sounded from the tanned baker and Mori followed soon after.


	5. After the Storm

Even though thunder cracked loudly for most of the night, Riley had never slept so soundly. By the time she woke up, both her and Mori had made their way onto their sides on the hard, wooden floor of the dusky cellar. She also realized that she was covered by Mori's large jacket and discovered her fellow companion's arm wrapped tightly around her waist and felt his nose brushing the back of her head. Slowly, she looked behind her and stared at Mori's peaceful expression. _"He is very... pretty." _The involuntary thought echoed through her mind.

Almost as if she said it out loud, the silent host began to stir from his restful sleep. The moment he realized the position he was in, he immediately withdrew his arm and sat up quickly. A few awkward moments passed before he muttered, "You were shivering last night."

"Well thank you Mori." She said before handing him back his jacket, "Seems like you've been looking out for me more than I've realized..." As she was handing him back his jacket, a sudden warmth began creeping up her body and a knot developed in her stomach. _"What the hell..." _she thought before standing. "Hey, let's go. The others are probably worried."

Just as predicted, the hosts were rampant in searching for their missing member by the time Mori and Riley found their way back at the beach house. Though the hosts _themselves_ weren't searching but multiple guards and maids were frantically looking. When the short baker and tall host were spotted, they were immediately brought to the main living room of the house where the rest of the host club was snoring loudly on the couch. At the sight of his master, Ghost bounded up to Riley and jumped up to try and lick her face. "Hey Ghost," she laughed, "miss me?"

Slowly, the others began to wake from their slumber but with dark bags under their eyes. Honey sleepily rubbed his eyes before muttering, "Ghost wouldn't stop howling once the storm started," he yawned, "he kept us up all night."

Haruhi, who fell asleep with her head on Tamaki's shoulder, slowly sat up and complained, "Why is it _always_ a thunder storm...?"

Riley was completely oblivious to the others around her as she sat cross legged on the floor and let Ghost coddle her. "That's strange," she said as she tried to calm the whining dog, "I've never seen him act like this before."

After, once everyone was finally somewhat awoken and shoved into a waiting limo, they departed from the beach house. Back at Ouran, everything went back to normal. Riley continued to bake and only crossed paths with Mori when Honey was somewhere near and, even then, they didn't say much to each other. A couple weeks passed before anything of real interest happened within the host club.

Every day, the Haninozuka's had a few workers deliver raw ingredients to the high school for Riley to use but one day, they were late. For a bit, she didn't panic and waited patiently in the kitchen. When students started flooding out into the hallways from their last class, she finally started to panic. Her job was to have at least three cakes made before the host club opened then continue the flow of baked pastries until all the clients were gone and she was dismissed by Honey. So, in an attempt to remedy the situation, she called a few supermarkets before one finally agreed to deliver the large order to the high school. Unfortunately, the company only delivered the food, they didn't bring it into the kitchen for her.

That's where Riley found herself. Outside on the back road leading to the kitchen with multiple bags and cases of flour, sugar, chocolate, icing sugar, among other needed necessities for baking. She shook her head in disdain and looked down at Ghost who was by her feet, "What're we gonna do Ghost? I'm pretty strong but not _this_ strong. I mean, _look_ at all this flour!"

Ghost sniffed delicately at a bag of sugar before walking back into the kitchen without even glancing back at his master. She frowned at his retreating figure and shook her head, "Useless... you're useless Ghost." After staring at the bags and crates for a few more moments, she nodded and muttered, "Okie dokie then." At first, she got the essentials in that she needed before starting her first batch of cakes. While they were in the oven, Riley began carting the ingredients into her work area at a very slow pace.

It wasn't long before Mori and Honey made their way into the kitchen and looked about the abandoned room which was occupied by one white husky sleeping quietly under a chair. Honey looked about the kitchen before looking up at his tall cousin, "Where's Rye-chan? She always has something for me to eat by this time..." he said then looked down at the floor in disappointment.

Mori walked over to the oven and peered within where the previously mentioned cakes were beginning to burn. In an attempt to save them, he hastily grabbed the oven mitts placed neatly beside the stovetop and pulled out the three pastries. Honey watched eagerly before muttering, "Well... if Ghost is here then Rye-chan must be somewhere near. He never leaves her side."

At that moment, Mori saw a trail of flour leaking from a bag closest to the door leading outside and, just as he was about to follow it, a shriek sounded from outside. Both the boy lolita and the silent host ran outside to see a giant cloud of white settling onto the ground, where the remnants of a flour bag lied. Once the cloud settled, a white figure stood amongst the damage with her hands in the air and white flour covering her from head to toe. When her eyes opened, the sight scared Honey so much that he ran from the scene, screaming as he went. Quietly, Mori could hear the figure mutter, "Honey wait..." and then he recognized Riley's clear dark blue eyes. He found himself unable to stop from smirking at her before holding out a hand to her, which she happily took before stepping over the broken flour bag. "Mori, you would _not_ believe how this all happened."

And with that, she continued on with her story, starting with when the delivery team didn't arrive. As she talked, Mori noticed how her eyes appeared to stand out amidst all the flour that rested on her skin, clothes and hair. He continued to stare as she continued her story until she ended with, "-and then I dropped that bag of flour and I know I'm pretty strong like you've seen these muscles when I wore that bathing suit at the beach like you _know_ but I don't know what happened. One minute, the bag was in my arms the next, on the ground and broken and now I look more like a ghost than Ghost does!" She let out an exasperated sigh before glancing up at the host. When she noticed his smirking expression, she began to chuckle, "I guess this is all pretty ridiculous, isn't it?"

He gave her a small shrug then handed her a dish rag that was sitting on the counter of the kitchen. The baker nodded and began wiping flour off her face, "Well you better go get Honey. I'll get at least most of this horrible stuff off before you two come back."

Listening to her advice, Mori left the kitchen to find his terrified cousin while Riley took her ponytail out and was trying to ruffle the flour out of her hair. By the time the two hosts went back, enough of the flour had been removed from the baker for her to at least be recognized by Honey. The moment the small blonde laid eyes on Riley he jumped into her arms and she hugged him tightly as he began to cry out, "You looked so scary Rye-chan!"

She nodded as he continued to cry and ran her fingers through his hair, "Yeah I know sweetie I'm sorry. I didn't wanna scare you." Once he quieted down some, she suggested, "Well, to avoid potentially scary moments in the future, I think _Mori_ should carry in the rest of the stuff I mean, he looks pretty strong. I'm pretty sure he could handle it." As she was saying this, she stared at Mori with a big smile on her face and lightly bit her lip to stop from laughing.

Honey escaped from her embrace and nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah Takashi can do it for you! That way, we can finish these cakes and go to the host club to share with everyone!"

Mori said nothing to this but went out and began to carry the ingredients in. While he was doing this, Honey and Riley were decorating a cake and, every so often, Riley would look over her shoulder to the doorway to catch a glimpse of Mori's physical labour. She began to note little qualities that she found particularily attractive to her about him without even realizing it.

After the cakes were done and the ingredients were stacked neatly in a heap but before the three left the kitchen, the rest of the hosts walked in unexpectedly. "There you are!" Hikaru and Kaoru said in unison.

"We were wondering where you were," Tamaki said as he brushed back one of his blonde locks, "so we decided to come investigate the disappearance of Takashi Morinozuka and Mitsukuni Haninozuka."

Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other before Kaoru said, "Investigate?" and Hikaru asked, "Disappearance?"

"It was a little obvious they were here boss." Hikaru muttered.

Kaoru nodded, "Yeah, where else would they be?"

Tamaki, ignoring the twins, thrusted his index finger into the air and exclaimed triumphantly, "And the kidnapper appears to be the cute baker, Riley Darko."

Riley, confused by Tamaki's sudden need for a dramatic story twist, frowned slightly, "Kidnapper?"

The so called "king" of the host club nodded and held himself dramatically as he began to narrate the story between the poor baker, the cute boy lolita who was in need of her services, and the tall silent cousin who found himself enraptured with the "help".

For at least a bit, the other hosts and Riley humoured him and let him continue his narration of his unrealistic story until he got to the part about how the baker and the tall cousin admit their feelings to each other while on a ski trip. Riley found herself shaking her head and saying, "Tamaki this story is ridiculous for a number of reasons."

Completely unphased by the fact that she interrupted him, Tamaki looked at her from over his shoulder, "Hm? And why is that my darling princess?"

Instead of answering him, she grabbed a handful of flour and threw it at him. At first, he seemed too stunned to do anything before he also grabbed a handful of flour to throw back at the already floured up baker. She laughed as the twins joined in and threw double fistfuls at Tamaki. Soon, Honey joined in and the five were all laughing loudly as flour, raisins, sugar and other baking ingredients flew across the room. Haruhi, Kyouya and Mori watched from a safe distance as all the hosts and the baker felt a satisfying sense of contentment.


End file.
